Fountain



J. E. RAMSEY April 14, 1970 FOUNTAIN Filed March 27, 1968 United States Patent 3,506,196 FOUNTAIN John Eugene Ramsey, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Rain Jet Corporation, Burbank, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 716,411 Int. Cl. 1305b 17/08 US. Cl. 239-17 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multi-tier rotary pendulum fountain head includes a hollow stem, through which water is discharged to define an upper tier of the fountain discharge pattern, mounted for rotation and gyration within a sleeve mounted to a septum defined by a base adapted to be connected to an open end of a water riser pipe so that the septum closes the riser, the sleeve is disposed within the riser, and the stem receives water from the riser. Water flowing out the sleeve through the septum is relied upon to rotate the stem in the sleeve. By-pass water flow means are provided through the septum outwardly of the sleeve into communication with the riser. Water passing from the riser through the by-pass flow means comprises the lowermost tier of the fountain discharge pattern togetther with water emerging from the sleeve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention pertains to water fountains and, more particularly, to rotary pendulum fountain heads.

Review of the prior art Devices like those shown in United States Patents 3,081,036, 3,175,767, and 3,301,490 may be termed rotary pendulum fountain heads of the multiple-tier discharge pattern type. These devices all rely upon the flow of water to produce rotation and gyration of a hollow stem within a sleeve which is mounted within the upper end of a water supply pipe. Water flowing through the sleeve from the supply pipe is relied upon to rotate the stem and, after discharge from the sleeve, defines the lower tier of the fountain pattern. Water flowing through the stem defines the upper tire or tiers of the fountain pattern.

The fountain patterns produced by the devices of the above-cited patents present exceptionally beautiful effects, especially when illuminated by artificial light. All tiers of the patterns are defined by individual water droplets, and the entire pattern rotates slowly in a stately manner. The droplets are formed of clear water and refract light like so many crystal prisms. The aesthetic effect produced in these fountain patterns is one of grace and airyness.

In certain situations, however, it is desired to produce a fountain pattern which has a more massive bottom tier than the bottom tiers in patterns produced by the devices of the above-cited patents. In prior devices, the bottom tier of the pattern is produced entirely by water relied upon to produce rotation of the entire pattern.

Especially in larger devices according to these patents, a massive bottom tier requires the use of considerable water with the result that the pattern tends to rotate faster than desired. If less water is used to rotate the pattern, thereby producing slower rotation, the bottom tier has its diameter decreased relative to that of the upper tiers.

One way in which a large volume of water can be used to define the bottom tiers of these patterns, without producing overly rapid pattern rotation, is to build into the fountain head a drag brake against which the stern must be driven. This solution, however, lowers the efliciency with which water pressure is used in the head. Also, the brakes tend to become less effective with use such that the pattern rotational velocity increases as the fountain head is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a multiple tier fountain head of the rotary pendulum type in which slow rotation of the fountain pattern is produced in a pattern which has a massive-appearing bottom tier. These advantages are provided without the use of drag brakes and the like in a fountain head which is economical and reliable. The principles involved in this invention are not special case principles and, thus, may be used to advantage in a rotary pendulum fountain head of substantially any size desired.

As used in the following description, and in the claims appended to the description, the term a fountain head of the class defined refers to the following structure: a multi-tier ornamental water fountain head which includes a septum member adapted to be connected across an open end of a water supply conduit; an aperture is formed through the septum member and a sleeve is sealed adjacent an open end thereof to the septum member around the aperture; the sleeve extends away from the septum member so as to be disposed inwardly of the open end of, and in spaced relation to the walls of, a conduit to which the septum member may be connected; an elongate tubular stem, of diameter less than that of the sleeve, is disposed within and extends through the sleeve and through the open end of the sleeve; means are provided for mounting the stem for rotation and gyration relative to the sleeve, as are means for admitting water into the sleeve to rotate the stem within the sleeve; the head also includes means for introducing water into the stem for flow therethrough to stem outlet means located beyond the sleeve open end for discharge from the head to define an upper tier in a multi-tier discharge pattern of the head.

In a fountain head of the class define, this invention provides an improvement which resides in by-pass water flow means extending through the septum member outwardly of the sleeve. The by-pass flow means are arranged to communicate exteriorly of the sleeve with a supply conduit to which the septum member may be connected. Water flowing through the by-pass flow means and through the sleeve comprises the lower tier of the fountain discharge pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above-mentioned and other features of this invention are more fully set forth in the following description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof, which description is presented with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation view of an improved fountain head; and

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the discharge pattern produced by the head of FIG. 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment A three-tier fountain head 10 (see FIG. 1) includes a base 11 preferably formed with an outer configuration similar to an elongate hex nut. The base defines a septum 12 which extends transversely of the base intermediate its length. An internally threaded recess 13 opens axially of the base from one side of the septum. The base is thus adapted to be secured to the externally threaded upper end of a vertically or substantially vertically disposed Water riser conduit (not shown) communicating with a source of pressurized water. The other end of the base defines an upper cylindrical recess 14 which opens axially of the base from the septum. A circular aperture 15 is formed through the septum axially of the base between recesses 13 and 14 and has a diameter substantially less than the diameter of either of the recesses.

An elongate hollow, open-ended sleeve 16 is sealed at its upper end to the base around hole 15. The sleeve is so supported in the base that when the base is connected to a water riser conduit, the sleeve is disposed axially of the conduit in spaced relation to the inner walls of the conduit.

An elongate tubular stem 17 extends through sleeve 16 from a lower end 18 disposed below the lower end of the sleeve to an upper end 19 disposed above the upper end of the sleeve. The outer diameter of the stem is substantially less than the inner diameter of the sleeve.

A bearing bushing 20, having an axial bore 21 of diameter slightly greater than the outer diameter of the stem, is fixed to the lower end of sleeve 16 and journals the stem. A second bearing bushing 22, having an axial bore 23 of diameter greater than the diameter of bore 21, is fixed in the upper end of the sleeve about the stem, as shown in FIG. 1. A circumferential bearing collar 24 is secured to the lower end of the stem and has its upper end arranged for engagement with the lower end of bearing bushing 20. A stop collar 25 is secured around the stem a short distance above the lower bearing bushing to prevent the stem from dropping an undesired amount downwardly of the sleeve when head 10 is installed but not in use.

A plurality of elongate slots 27, aligned with the length of the sleeve, are provided through the sleeve between bearing bushings 20 and 22. The slots are spaced evenly about the circumference of the sleeve and are all angled in the same direction relative to the sleeve axis, that is, the slots extend somewhat tangentially through the sleeve rather than radially of the sleeve. Thus, when the base is coupled to a water riser conduit and water is applied under pressure to the head, water enters the sleeve through slots 27 and spirals upwardly around the stem to be discharged from the head via recess 14. The swirling water in the sleeve exerts viscous drag upon the stem and causes the stem to rotate within the sleeve. Because the fit between bearing bushing 22 and the stem is looser than the fit between bushing 20 and the stem, the stem is also caused to gyrate or pivot relative to the sleeve as it rotates. In use of the head, therefore, the stem behaves as an inverted rotary pendulum relative to the sleeve.

A ring 29 is mounted around the upper end of recess 14 and has an inner diameter which is more nearly equal to the diameter of the recess than to the diameter of stem 17. As shown in FIG. 1, the ring defines a shoulder surface 30 which opens toward the base of the recess normal to the axis of the recess.

A water disperser head 31 is mounted to the stem adjacent the stem upper end. The disperser head includes a body 32 having an axial bore 33 within which the upper end of the stem is secured. The stem opens to a cavity 34 formed within the body, the upper end of the cavity being closed by an insert 35. A central nozzle tube 36 is carried by the insert and extends through the insert coaxially of the stem into communication with cavity 34. The upper end of nozzle tube 36 is disposed above the insert. A plurality, preferably three, of secondary nozzle tubes 37 are carried by the insert outwardly of the central nozzle tube and are spaced uniformly from each other and from the central nozzle tube. The secondary nozzle tubes extend at an angle to the central nozzle tube upwardly and outwardly from communication with cavity 34 to upper ends disposed above the insert.

The lower exterior portion of disperser head body 32 defines a conical surface 38 which tapers downwardly and inwardly toward the stem from an upper edge 39 disposed above ring 29, and preferably outwardly of the inner diameter of the ring, to an inner edge 40 disposed within the vertical extent of recess 14.

A deflector ring 41 is mounted to stem 17 below the lower extent of conical surface 38; if desired, the deflector ring may be formed integral with disperser head body 32. The deflector ring has a maximum diameter which is substantially equal to the inner diameter of ring 29. The deflector ring has a lower surface 42 which is normal to the axis of stem 17 and which is spaced above the bottom of recess 14, in use of fountain head 10, a distance which is somewhat greater than the spacing of stop collar 25 above bearing bushing 20 in the use of the fountain head. The upper surface 43 of the deflector ring defines a shallow conical taper which is inclined upwardly toward the stem.

To the extent that fountain head 10 (shown in FIG. 1) has been described above, to the same extent is the head substantially in accord with the disclosures of United States Patent 3,175,767. Head 10 produces fountain discharge pattern 45 shown in FIG. 2. In pattern 45, uppermost tier 46, defined by a coneof water droplets, is produced by water emerging from cavity 34 through central nozzle tube 36; water is supplied to the cavity through stem 17 which has its open lower end in communication with a riser conduit to which the fountain head is mounted in use. A central tier 47 of pattern 45 is defined by three separate water droplet cones 48, each of which is produced by water emerging through a respective one of secondary nozzle tubes 37 from cavity 34. The lowermost tier 49 of pattern 45 is defined, in part in head 10, by water emerging from the upper end of sleeve 16 and out through recess 14; this water is also used to produce rotation and gyration of stem 17 in the sleeve.

It will be apparent from an inspection of FIG. 1 that the water which emerges from nozzle tubes 36 and 37 is essentially free of aeration since such water flows directly through the stem, cavity 34, and the nozzle tubes. The water which defines tier 49 of fountain pattern 10, to the extent such tier is defined by water passing through the sleeve, is relatively highly aerated since such water becomes aerated in spiraling along the sleeve and out of the fountain head through recess 14. In devices according to Patent 3,175,767, for example, all the water used to define tier 49 was passed through sleeve 16.

To produce a desirable aesthetic aspect of fountain pattern 45, it is desirable that disperser head 31 rotate relatively slowly and that the diameters of tiers 46, 47 and 49 be substantially equal at the lower end of the pattern adjacent the fountain head. As noted above, to produce these conditions in fountain patterns generated by operation of the fountain heads of the above-cited patents, it was necessary to use a drag brake or the like between the stem and the sleeve to slow stem rotation from that which would have been produced by the large volume of water passed through the sleeve to produce a lower pattern tier of suitable characteristics. Stern rotation could be slowed by reducing the quantity of water passed through the stem, but this solution is unsatisfactory since it results in a lower tier which does not have as massive an appearance or a diameter as desired.

Pursuant to this invention, fountain head 10 includes a plurality of by-pass water flow passages 50 formed through base septum 12 outwardly of sleeve 16; in the presently preferred structure shown in FIG. 1, six passages 50 are provided. The by-pass passages communicate between recesses 13 and 14. It has been found that best results are produced when the upper ends of the bypass passages are located within the radius of deflector ring 41 and the axes of the passages are inclined upwardly and inwardly of the sleeve axis at an angle of about 5.

By reason of the provision of passages 50, the total area of sleeve slots 27 may be reduced to that area which admits to the sleeve that amount of water which causes stem 17 to rotate at a desired slow rate. The total area of slots 27 and passages 50 is selected so that the total quantity of water introduced into recess 14 is that amount which produces a fountain pattern lower tier of desired massiveness relative to the pattern tiers thereabove. This quantity of water is passed from the Outlets of sleeve 16 and passages 50 through the sinuous path defined by deflector ring 41, ring 30, and surface 38 of the disperser head body to emergence from head 10. In passing along this sinuous path, the energy of such water is partially dissipated so that precise control over the diameter of tier 49 relative to tiers 46 and 47 is attained; the energy of water emerging from nozzle tubes 36 and 37 must be higher than that emerging from recess 14 to produce a fountain pattern of the desired aesthetic character.

Since the water which defines tier 49 in the discharge pattern of head includes only so much water from sleeve 16 as is required to rotate the stem, the tier is defined by water which is aerated only to a slight extent, the balance of the water forming this tier being water which flows through passages 50 and which shows only nominal aeration, if any. Therefore, the fountain pattern of head 10 is especially effective when illuminated by artificial light.

The present invention has been described above with reference to a fountain head constructed in general accord with the disclosures of United States Patent 3,175,- 767. The invention may also be used to advantage in fountain heads constructed according to the disclosures of the other patents cited above, as well as in other multitier fountain heads of the rotary pendulum type. Therefore, the foregoing description should not be regarded as limiting the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multi-tier ornamental water fountain head including a sleeve having an open end and mounted adjacent the open end thereof in a septum member which is arranged so that when the septum member is connected across an open end of a water supply conduit the sleeve opposite from the open end thereof is disposed within the conduit in spaced relation to the conduit walls, an elongate tubular stem of diameter less than that of the sleeve disposed within the sleeve to extend through the sleeve open end and mounted for rotation and gyration relative to the sleeve, means for admitting water into the sleeve to rotate and gyrate the stem, and means for introducing water into the stem forflow therethrough to stem outlet means located beyond the sleeve open end for discharge from the head to define an upper tier in a discharge pattern of the head, the improvement comprising by-pass water flow means extending through the septum member outwardly of the sleeve to communicate exteriorly of the sleeve with a water supply conduit to which the septum member may be connected, water flowing through the bypass flow means and the sleeve comprising the lower tier of the discharge pattern.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the by-pass flow means comprises a plurality of passages formed through the septum member at regularly spaced locations around the sleeve.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the passages have outlet ends spaced closer to the sleeve than the inlet ends thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the passages are straight between the inlet and outlet ends thereof.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the septum member defines an upwardly open recess concentric to the elongate extent of the sleeve and to which the sleeve opens, including a deflector member secured to the stem a selected distance above the bottom of the recess and extending radially outwardly of the stem toward the walls of the recess, the passages opening to the recess within the radial extent of the deflector member.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the passages are inclined toward the center of the recess proceeding toward the recess through the septum member.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the angle of inclination of the passages relative to the elongate extent of the sleeve is about 5.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,301,490 1/1967 Hruby 23917 3,082,957 3/1963 Semple 23917 3,175,767 3/1965 Hruby 23917 3,301,490 1/1967 Hruby 23917 EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 239237, 263, 556 

